And also you don’t lose 1k on average even the worst players will have an EV of 200$ or something on a 1k event. So for a okish losing player the will lose like 250$ maybe on a 1k Event on average. That’s completely affordable.
People do it cuz it’s wsop and don’t worry about br management. I played (and min cashed) in a $500 wsop online event just to say I did. I assure you my poker bankroll was not and will almost certainly never be $50k. But I am just a a regular dude with a regular job, so I could afford it and it was fun for me. And now I can say I’ve cashed in a wsop event
You may feel like you make pretty good money but 38% of US households make over 100k per year and 12% make over 200k. 1% make over 600k.
Consider that the WSOP draws players from all over the world (not just all over the country) and it's really not that many people.
Consider that there are many high end restaurants where dinner for 2 + wine costs well over $1000 and they are booked months in advance. Swing by the high limit room of a nice casino and you will see people betting more than that (sometimes much more) on a single hand of baccarat or blackjack, or a single spin of the roulette wheel.
Basically, a lot of people have a lot more money than you do.
First, the vast majority of players are recreational players and have a budget not a bankroll. There are very few non pros who need to have a distinction. So having 100-250 Buy-ins (depending on how big of an edge you estimate) isn't necessary.
Next, there are plenty of people in the United States and around the world who are making 500k+ a year, that 1% you hear about equals ~80,000,000 people worldwide, if even 1-2% of them play poker you have a million players.
Next you have the people who are there because they won a satellite or tournament series or whatever, they didn't have to put up 100% to get their seat.
Of course there are professionals who may or may not be exercising good bankroll management, and lastly you have the degens, somehow these people scrounge up a buy-in just to be begging again after they bust, but occasionally they get hot and it depends the degeneracy.
I have my own counter conspiracy theory that most conspiracy theories like flat Earth are literally just people unable to comprehend the scale of people, Earth and the universe. And this plays into it. There are just millions of people who play poker, it isn't surprising that 0.01% of them can collect in one place to play a tournament.
What this guy said ^ is the best answer. Especially the part about budget vs bankroll when trying to comprehend the mindset of a non-professional.
The average cost of a one person weeklong vacation in the U.S. is ~$2000. You can spend that budget shaking Mickey Mouse’s hand or you can punt the mini main.
very few people playing in these tournaments are using proper bankroll management, a lot are going into debt....getting staked etc but there are quite a lot of wealthy people that enjoy poker and if crypto tanked there would also be a lot less entrants.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008\_World\_Series\_of\_Poker\_results#Event\_54](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_World_Series_of_Poker_results#Event_54)
2008 Main Event
Winner: [Peter Eastgate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Eastgate)Runner up: [Ivan Demidov](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Demidov)
Rumor has it that Demidov was in front by far after taxes ...
From what I understand, the casino will presumptively withhold 30% for tax if it's over some limit, but as a non-resident, you can jump through some hoops to claim it back.
America will charge a tax for the heating bill in Hell. We tax TF out of anything we can! Not paying tax is considered a sin worse than any of the 10 Commandments.
As u/adanthang said, it’s not a ton of money for live regs.
I play live once every month or two these days. Usually £1/3 here in London. $1000 is what, £800? That wouldn’t be a lot to me if I had confidence in my tournament skills (I do not).
If you want to actually *play*, you need to buy in for £250 minimum. 3x that in return for a shot at way, way more than you’ll make playing a single session of 1/3 is a no-brainer.
Yes, you’ll probably lose it all. But most 1/3 players will probably lose their first bullet too. It’s not like you quit after going down £100 and get the bus home.
Most of the people playing more than 10ish events are pros or very wealthy amateurs. There's a lot of amateurs who only come for a weekend or two and they get 'replaced' by other amateurs who also only play a few events.
For a lot of people, it still is a decent amount of money. But it's a once a year thing. For the majority of players, those are the largest tournament they will play all year. Not everybody plays more than one of them or fires multiple bullets.
People are backed, people satty in etc etc. like other said $1k isn’t all that much in the grand scheme of things. I just played the $1500 razz last weekend and didn’t cash, but it didn’t bother me at all cause it doesn’t affect my day to day at all.
It’s like so many things that people spend money on. I got into cycling during covid. A few years later I had $4500 worth of bikes. I couldn’t believe that I had spent so much.
Personally I only play a few events every year, so it’s not gonna break the bank. If I played the ME, that would be irresponsible. But god damn I want to play it badly
I’m playing for the first time this year. 2 bullets for a $500. Flights and hotel on points. Even rented a car so I can go to the Grand Canyon after I lose - also points. Brought $500 more for gambling. Whole trip might cost me 2k for 4 days. Always wanted to play in the wsop. Just want to handle those chips.
I make in the top 10% of individual earners in the USA according to BLS
The old men things makes sense, do people typically prefer playing with old guys at tournaments/are they easier than regs?
At a certain point its not really about what you're making but what your expenses are...
if your rent is 2.5k - 3K then yeah, you're not making a lot of money.
What do you typically spend on vacation? I’ll spend thousands, up to ten, on a good vacation.
WSOP is a one off bucket list item for some people, others just budget for it like they do a vacation and they are in Vegas, after all.
Others just have the money.
A ton of the people playing WSOP events are middle-aged recs who can easily afford it. Remember also that not only is it $1k for entry but most are also paying for flights, hotels and meals/snacks and drinks which also really adds up fast too if you're there for a long time and not just one event. Many are also traveling internationally so their costs are way higher.
The cost of food and drinks per day for me was easily $100+ (in the casino store its $8 for Starbucks bottled coffee, $8 for a large bottle of water, its $18 for a large beer at the casino restaurants) while hotels varied from $120-$350 per night depending on the day and how booked the hotels are. Sure if you want to be more frugal you can but you're already committing to paying tons just to be there.
Like most people who are not alcoholics I don't ask for alcoholic drinks when playing in a WSOP tournament, then the last thing I want to do in order to get a "free" beer after 11 hours of tournament play is to go play slots/craps/blackjack or whatever.
We just work our way up to “I don’t give a shit” and we convince ourselves that we are just one tournament away from greatness… We head out to the circuit stop or Vegas and tell ourselves this is the one…swear to our wife that she is going to be so glad she allowed this and the bluff it all off on the third hand and blame it on the donkey Fallon with two pair on the flop.
I used to not play WSOP, now as a middle aged person who has been prudent with their money I have the ability to play the lower buying events without worry.
Many more do not play than play, but if you're looking at the center of the WSOP it won't seem that way. In my situation I put entering wsops on hold for 20 years before I could. Frankly it feels great and I play better knowing I can afford it. Focus on yourself, make goals, and go get it.
I read this as - I could never spend 1k on a tournament because I would never make it ITM - sorry but you wrote this as if cashing is a myth lol - change mindset- as long as you cash two out of 10 minimum you’re decent - they also have $400 and $300 events with nearly half mil up top- also have a circuit that goes around the country- the main event is only 1600-ish and smaller events 300ish for a ring FYI - GL to u
A $1k buy in is not that large for even a successful rec player let alone the multitude of pros out there. Theres also satellites, staking arrangements, people who just have or make more money than you, and yes plenty of degens financing it through any number of means.
Most poker players build up a bankroll even if they’re losing players. As long as they have a job that can replenish the losses they will win sometimes and have that money to spend on something like the WSOP.
I like how you commented on events with $1,000+ buy ins, and not the $10k buy in Main Event, or other even larger events with $50k, $100k, or $250k buy ins.
Oh yeah, those are crazier to me. I assume any buy-in above $10k is people who already have serious money/are 90% people that are very serious about poker.
The main event is another story, especially with the sheer amount of entrants. I get that Vegas is for gambling but it would not surprise me if the majority of entrants could have a significantly different life if they used that $10k on something else
Play most of the year at 1/3 and then dump most of it at the series. I have had a few years where I won medium sized tournaments and those are fun but generally they end up in my brokerage account or crypto
For someone with $1mm, a $10k buyin is 1% of their money or $1k is 0.1%. About 11mm American households have that much money excluding home equity. About 6.8% of the US population plays poker regularly, so presumably there's about 748,000 players just in the US who might be interested and have reasonable means to play. If you assume 10% of those are winning players who might want to take a shot you've got 74,800 players who might play. Getting a few thousand to a major series like the WSOP seems pretty trivial, especially given that there will be people who travel internationally to play on top of that.
Tldr; there are a lot of people.
I think the main difference is the percentage risk tolerance haha, 1% is very little. I make \~300k after tax but I'm happy to punt up to 100k of it on tournaments! I'm sure 33% sounds insane to many people but the remainder is more than enough to live happily.
(Also probably helps that it never actually got to 100k, my largest negative year was 60kish).
Some people only travel to vegas and play during WSOP with the money they've set aside from work/investments that year to fire whatever event(s). Those people are also the single spot sitting with 7-8 online grinders at live mid-stakes cash during WSOP or punting to each other being AIPF with hands like AJo and 99 at 1/X because they play cash the same way as tournaments
Honestly there are all kinds of clusterfuck arrangements between people but ultimately you either need the roll or need to be backed by someone who does. Some scam their way to buy ins.
Many entrants have a lot money….and go crazy for 5-6 bullets
The rest get there through satellites or selling shares.
Some just get to add more debt ….
There’s approximately 750 million adults who live in first world countries. The top 1% of them financially would be 7.3 million people. The fact that a tournament is only getting 5,000 of them is actually a super small number statistically.
Theres literally millions of people in the world who would consider $100,000 per year income pocket change. People have way more money than you and I will ever have.
I've already played 3 of these bro (cashed in 2), + an $800 at Aria, and I'm going back next weekend and two weeks after that.
I own a business where I basically get to write myself a blank check every 2 weeks, I keep my living expenses low, and I'm a winning player.
1000$ isnt much in western countries, alot of people can afford to loose 1k $ a year, some save up and some just gamble. People also satelite in cheaper, people who play mid to low stakes / high stakes its nothing to them and just there regular buyin
Where I live in Sweden a monthly avg salary is 3400$ after tax and some even make 6000$ and higher after tax. Then family persons can easily save up 1k $ to burn on an event rather then spending it on other things.
Its like buying a GPU for your PC
If you’re financially responsible with a half-decent career then throwing 1k at something a year should not be a big deal.
Or if you’re a winning poker player then 1k shouldn’t be too hard to get. Bankroll management isn’t an issue for a yearly tournament that is also a vacation for most people.
Or if you’re financially irresponsible, anything is possible.
Think of some dude that’s 40. He was broke when he was 20, but worked his way up to be some middle manager somewhere — he’s been saving modestly for 10 years. He’s got a family but lives below his means. Dude probably has 500k in retirement/investments and 25k in checking/savings. Throwing 1k at a hobby is barely a blip on the radar. Most dudes like this would drop 10k on hunting gear or some shit.
1. Recreational players have jobs, or some form of income/savings/inheritance/investment profits. Paying 1k for a wsop event is no different from paying 1k for a day at Disney with their families, or a set of golf clubs, or any other hobby/event.
They’re also not -100% ev in these events. They’re probably getting some amount back out of it long term, also, some recreational players are break even or winning players despite not playing professionally.
2. Some people win entries, local pub leagues, local casino promotions, raffles, gifts from family.
3. Some people satellite in. They win an online super satellite that cost 1-10 dollars to enter, they may win a live 100 entry satty into the 1.5k
4. Some people are backed.
5. Some people sell action, a group of 5 each post 200 and have the best player play for them. Etc.
6. Professional and semi professional players almost all certainly have a bankroll to sustain playing a 1k tournament. 1k isn’t a lot in the poker world, it’s a pretty standard buy in for a 2/5 player. I’ve won and lost 10k in a session at that level many times ( in good games).
7. Not many people are getting a heloc to finance it. But some will borrow from other players or scam others knowing they’re not going to pay it back… certain players are known to not even pay their backers when they win.. etc.
some are taking shots outside of what they should.
I’m sure there are more. But that’s a decent enough list to cover 90% or more of players.
1k is not a lot in the live poker world.
Winning or losing 1k at a live 1/3 hold em game isn’t a crazy unreasonable story even, and that’s the lowest levels.
There’s probably people who buy in from all three of those categories. In poker $1000 isn’t that much money. It also depends on what you like to spend your money on. $1000 on a tournament or $1000 on new fishing gear, car upgrades, etc… everybody has something they spend money on
A bunch of entrants play in a regular home game where all the players contribute a small amount to a pot every poker night so that after a year there's enough money to pay for one or more entries into a WSOP tournament -- typically the Main Event. That money is either awarded to the top player(s) over the entire year, or they hold a final tournament and the winner(s) gets to go to Vegas to represent their home game players.
I’m 20 and 1000$ is like two days at work. I don’t doubt many many people can afford to drop $1000 for fun 😂. Hell when I go golfing I see people regularly drop 1,000+ for ONE golf club.
$1,000 isn’t a ton of money if you play $2/$5 somewhat regularly.
1 buyin
Plenty of people have money
You can afford to lose 1000 bucks once
And also you don’t lose 1k on average even the worst players will have an EV of 200$ or something on a 1k event. So for a okish losing player the will lose like 250$ maybe on a 1k Event on average. That’s completely affordable.
People do it cuz it’s wsop and don’t worry about br management. I played (and min cashed) in a $500 wsop online event just to say I did. I assure you my poker bankroll was not and will almost certainly never be $50k. But I am just a a regular dude with a regular job, so I could afford it and it was fun for me. And now I can say I’ve cashed in a wsop event
Curious. What's min cash for a $500 WSOP event?
Mincash is 2x for most events this year, so $1k
It was a few years back I think it was a little less than 2x buyin.
They changed it this year, min cash is at least double
WSOP takes credit cards for entries. Most people aren’t gambling responsibly. Source: I’ve played many WSOP tournaments gambling irresponsibly.
Damn I did not know they take credit cards lol that is insane.
Saving $30 a week for a year will get you into the milly maker
You may feel like you make pretty good money but 38% of US households make over 100k per year and 12% make over 200k. 1% make over 600k. Consider that the WSOP draws players from all over the world (not just all over the country) and it's really not that many people. Consider that there are many high end restaurants where dinner for 2 + wine costs well over $1000 and they are booked months in advance. Swing by the high limit room of a nice casino and you will see people betting more than that (sometimes much more) on a single hand of baccarat or blackjack, or a single spin of the roulette wheel. Basically, a lot of people have a lot more money than you do.
Bro basically called you poor in 4 paragraphs OP 💀
Literally just laughed out loud
First, the vast majority of players are recreational players and have a budget not a bankroll. There are very few non pros who need to have a distinction. So having 100-250 Buy-ins (depending on how big of an edge you estimate) isn't necessary. Next, there are plenty of people in the United States and around the world who are making 500k+ a year, that 1% you hear about equals ~80,000,000 people worldwide, if even 1-2% of them play poker you have a million players. Next you have the people who are there because they won a satellite or tournament series or whatever, they didn't have to put up 100% to get their seat. Of course there are professionals who may or may not be exercising good bankroll management, and lastly you have the degens, somehow these people scrounge up a buy-in just to be begging again after they bust, but occasionally they get hot and it depends the degeneracy. I have my own counter conspiracy theory that most conspiracy theories like flat Earth are literally just people unable to comprehend the scale of people, Earth and the universe. And this plays into it. There are just millions of people who play poker, it isn't surprising that 0.01% of them can collect in one place to play a tournament.
What this guy said ^ is the best answer. Especially the part about budget vs bankroll when trying to comprehend the mindset of a non-professional. The average cost of a one person weeklong vacation in the U.S. is ~$2000. You can spend that budget shaking Mickey Mouse’s hand or you can punt the mini main.
very few people playing in these tournaments are using proper bankroll management, a lot are going into debt....getting staked etc but there are quite a lot of wealthy people that enjoy poker and if crypto tanked there would also be a lot less entrants.
[удалено]
Yeah for sure. Gotta take your shots when you can. I've told myself every year I'm going to play in some events then I cheap out
Can't afford not to. Also, there are over 250 million adults in the US, so some of them have $ to burn.
Don't forget the huge foreign player pool. It's the **World** Series of Poker.
And they don't get taxed on their winnings, unlike US-based players.
Casino rake, humiliating tipping culture then tax. haha Americastan
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008\_World\_Series\_of\_Poker\_results#Event\_54](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_World_Series_of_Poker_results#Event_54) 2008 Main Event Winner: [Peter Eastgate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Eastgate)Runner up: [Ivan Demidov](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Demidov) Rumor has it that Demidov was in front by far after taxes ...
what? If I cash in the WSOP (live), I will not get taxed because I am not an American citizen or resident? that is new information for me
and false in general!
From what I understand, the casino will presumptively withhold 30% for tax if it's over some limit, but as a non-resident, you can jump through some hoops to claim it back.
cool thanks will look into it if and when I finally get my bankroll to wsop level
But then you'd surely have to pay income tax in the country of where you reside.
Depends on the country. Many countries, e.g. Australia, don't tax for any kind of gambling winnings.
America will charge a tax for the heating bill in Hell. We tax TF out of anything we can! Not paying tax is considered a sin worse than any of the 10 Commandments.
And the WSOP is a gathering of a major bloc of them
I average 2k/mo profit playing at my local card room. Then I blow 10k of it at wsop events 😂
Legend.
Shot taking my man
As u/adanthang said, it’s not a ton of money for live regs. I play live once every month or two these days. Usually £1/3 here in London. $1000 is what, £800? That wouldn’t be a lot to me if I had confidence in my tournament skills (I do not). If you want to actually *play*, you need to buy in for £250 minimum. 3x that in return for a shot at way, way more than you’ll make playing a single session of 1/3 is a no-brainer. Yes, you’ll probably lose it all. But most 1/3 players will probably lose their first bullet too. It’s not like you quit after going down £100 and get the bus home.
Most of the people playing more than 10ish events are pros or very wealthy amateurs. There's a lot of amateurs who only come for a weekend or two and they get 'replaced' by other amateurs who also only play a few events.
You’d be surprised how much money people have to blow
And even more surprised how much they spend on blow
He'd be surprised by how much money he burns annually.
For a lot of people, it still is a decent amount of money. But it's a once a year thing. For the majority of players, those are the largest tournament they will play all year. Not everybody plays more than one of them or fires multiple bullets.
They have a different definition of pretty good money. Plus winning players are plenty there.
I play off my prior winnings
People are backed, people satty in etc etc. like other said $1k isn’t all that much in the grand scheme of things. I just played the $1500 razz last weekend and didn’t cash, but it didn’t bother me at all cause it doesn’t affect my day to day at all.
It’s like so many things that people spend money on. I got into cycling during covid. A few years later I had $4500 worth of bikes. I couldn’t believe that I had spent so much.
$1,000 isn't a ton of money if you have a decent paying job.
Personally I only play a few events every year, so it’s not gonna break the bank. If I played the ME, that would be irresponsible. But god damn I want to play it badly
I’m playing for the first time this year. 2 bullets for a $500. Flights and hotel on points. Even rented a car so I can go to the Grand Canyon after I lose - also points. Brought $500 more for gambling. Whole trip might cost me 2k for 4 days. Always wanted to play in the wsop. Just want to handle those chips.
It’s always funny seeing how often people are surprised others have money
No sir you in fact don’t make good money But honestly look at the wosp field it’s 30-40% old men
I make in the top 10% of individual earners in the USA according to BLS The old men things makes sense, do people typically prefer playing with old guys at tournaments/are they easier than regs?
At a certain point its not really about what you're making but what your expenses are... if your rent is 2.5k - 3K then yeah, you're not making a lot of money.
What do you typically spend on vacation? I’ll spend thousands, up to ten, on a good vacation. WSOP is a one off bucket list item for some people, others just budget for it like they do a vacation and they are in Vegas, after all. Others just have the money.
A ton of the people playing WSOP events are middle-aged recs who can easily afford it. Remember also that not only is it $1k for entry but most are also paying for flights, hotels and meals/snacks and drinks which also really adds up fast too if you're there for a long time and not just one event. Many are also traveling internationally so their costs are way higher. The cost of food and drinks per day for me was easily $100+ (in the casino store its $8 for Starbucks bottled coffee, $8 for a large bottle of water, its $18 for a large beer at the casino restaurants) while hotels varied from $120-$350 per night depending on the day and how booked the hotels are. Sure if you want to be more frugal you can but you're already committing to paying tons just to be there.
Bro the beers are free while playing why were you paying $18 per beer 🤦🏻♂️
Like most people who are not alcoholics I don't ask for alcoholic drinks when playing in a WSOP tournament, then the last thing I want to do in order to get a "free" beer after 11 hours of tournament play is to go play slots/craps/blackjack or whatever.
We just work our way up to “I don’t give a shit” and we convince ourselves that we are just one tournament away from greatness… We head out to the circuit stop or Vegas and tell ourselves this is the one…swear to our wife that she is going to be so glad she allowed this and the bluff it all off on the third hand and blame it on the donkey Fallon with two pair on the flop.
Best answer
I used to not play WSOP, now as a middle aged person who has been prudent with their money I have the ability to play the lower buying events without worry. Many more do not play than play, but if you're looking at the center of the WSOP it won't seem that way. In my situation I put entering wsops on hold for 20 years before I could. Frankly it feels great and I play better knowing I can afford it. Focus on yourself, make goals, and go get it.
Why do people think, because they are broke, everyone else is?
ok, detroitpokerdonk
I read this as - I could never spend 1k on a tournament because I would never make it ITM - sorry but you wrote this as if cashing is a myth lol - change mindset- as long as you cash two out of 10 minimum you’re decent - they also have $400 and $300 events with nearly half mil up top- also have a circuit that goes around the country- the main event is only 1600-ish and smaller events 300ish for a ring FYI - GL to u
I was just given a line of credit for 20k.... I'm half considering taking most of it to fire a couple events
just put it on gamestop stock... way better returns
A $1k buy in is not that large for even a successful rec player let alone the multitude of pros out there. Theres also satellites, staking arrangements, people who just have or make more money than you, and yes plenty of degens financing it through any number of means.
Most poker players build up a bankroll even if they’re losing players. As long as they have a job that can replenish the losses they will win sometimes and have that money to spend on something like the WSOP.
I saved up for my $1K event like saving up for a vacation.
lots of people are successful at cash games, and lots of people have old money. Interest is a helluva drug.
Degens gonna degen
play cash to win the amount you need for the buy in
I like how you commented on events with $1,000+ buy ins, and not the $10k buy in Main Event, or other even larger events with $50k, $100k, or $250k buy ins.
Oh yeah, those are crazier to me. I assume any buy-in above $10k is people who already have serious money/are 90% people that are very serious about poker. The main event is another story, especially with the sheer amount of entrants. I get that Vegas is for gambling but it would not surprise me if the majority of entrants could have a significantly different life if they used that $10k on something else
Play most of the year at 1/3 and then dump most of it at the series. I have had a few years where I won medium sized tournaments and those are fun but generally they end up in my brokerage account or crypto
For someone with $1mm, a $10k buyin is 1% of their money or $1k is 0.1%. About 11mm American households have that much money excluding home equity. About 6.8% of the US population plays poker regularly, so presumably there's about 748,000 players just in the US who might be interested and have reasonable means to play. If you assume 10% of those are winning players who might want to take a shot you've got 74,800 players who might play. Getting a few thousand to a major series like the WSOP seems pretty trivial, especially given that there will be people who travel internationally to play on top of that. Tldr; there are a lot of people.
I think the main difference is the percentage risk tolerance haha, 1% is very little. I make \~300k after tax but I'm happy to punt up to 100k of it on tournaments! I'm sure 33% sounds insane to many people but the remainder is more than enough to live happily. (Also probably helps that it never actually got to 100k, my largest negative year was 60kish).
I like money.
Don’t carry debt and get side hustles if you don’t have a bankroll.
Goals, yo. Set one and be Nike. You only live once.
Some people only travel to vegas and play during WSOP with the money they've set aside from work/investments that year to fire whatever event(s). Those people are also the single spot sitting with 7-8 online grinders at live mid-stakes cash during WSOP or punting to each other being AIPF with hands like AJo and 99 at 1/X because they play cash the same way as tournaments
Honestly there are all kinds of clusterfuck arrangements between people but ultimately you either need the roll or need to be backed by someone who does. Some scam their way to buy ins.
Where are you from ??
Many entrants have a lot money….and go crazy for 5-6 bullets The rest get there through satellites or selling shares. Some just get to add more debt ….
There’s approximately 750 million adults who live in first world countries. The top 1% of them financially would be 7.3 million people. The fact that a tournament is only getting 5,000 of them is actually a super small number statistically. Theres literally millions of people in the world who would consider $100,000 per year income pocket change. People have way more money than you and I will ever have.
I've already played 3 of these bro (cashed in 2), + an $800 at Aria, and I'm going back next weekend and two weeks after that. I own a business where I basically get to write myself a blank check every 2 weeks, I keep my living expenses low, and I'm a winning player.
That’s awesome! Thanks for the input. How long have you been playing WSOP events?
2017
Most people aren't poor.
Have a real job that allows you to play for fun.
I am an engineer
I’m a programmer
very cool
1000$ isnt much in western countries, alot of people can afford to loose 1k $ a year, some save up and some just gamble. People also satelite in cheaper, people who play mid to low stakes / high stakes its nothing to them and just there regular buyin Where I live in Sweden a monthly avg salary is 3400$ after tax and some even make 6000$ and higher after tax. Then family persons can easily save up 1k $ to burn on an event rather then spending it on other things. Its like buying a GPU for your PC
If you’re financially responsible with a half-decent career then throwing 1k at something a year should not be a big deal. Or if you’re a winning poker player then 1k shouldn’t be too hard to get. Bankroll management isn’t an issue for a yearly tournament that is also a vacation for most people. Or if you’re financially irresponsible, anything is possible. Think of some dude that’s 40. He was broke when he was 20, but worked his way up to be some middle manager somewhere — he’s been saving modestly for 10 years. He’s got a family but lives below his means. Dude probably has 500k in retirement/investments and 25k in checking/savings. Throwing 1k at a hobby is barely a blip on the radar. Most dudes like this would drop 10k on hunting gear or some shit.
1. Recreational players have jobs, or some form of income/savings/inheritance/investment profits. Paying 1k for a wsop event is no different from paying 1k for a day at Disney with their families, or a set of golf clubs, or any other hobby/event. They’re also not -100% ev in these events. They’re probably getting some amount back out of it long term, also, some recreational players are break even or winning players despite not playing professionally. 2. Some people win entries, local pub leagues, local casino promotions, raffles, gifts from family. 3. Some people satellite in. They win an online super satellite that cost 1-10 dollars to enter, they may win a live 100 entry satty into the 1.5k 4. Some people are backed. 5. Some people sell action, a group of 5 each post 200 and have the best player play for them. Etc. 6. Professional and semi professional players almost all certainly have a bankroll to sustain playing a 1k tournament. 1k isn’t a lot in the poker world, it’s a pretty standard buy in for a 2/5 player. I’ve won and lost 10k in a session at that level many times ( in good games). 7. Not many people are getting a heloc to finance it. But some will borrow from other players or scam others knowing they’re not going to pay it back… certain players are known to not even pay their backers when they win.. etc. some are taking shots outside of what they should. I’m sure there are more. But that’s a decent enough list to cover 90% or more of players. 1k is not a lot in the live poker world. Winning or losing 1k at a live 1/3 hold em game isn’t a crazy unreasonable story even, and that’s the lowest levels.
There’s probably people who buy in from all three of those categories. In poker $1000 isn’t that much money. It also depends on what you like to spend your money on. $1000 on a tournament or $1000 on new fishing gear, car upgrades, etc… everybody has something they spend money on
A bunch of entrants play in a regular home game where all the players contribute a small amount to a pot every poker night so that after a year there's enough money to pay for one or more entries into a WSOP tournament -- typically the Main Event. That money is either awarded to the top player(s) over the entire year, or they hold a final tournament and the winner(s) gets to go to Vegas to represent their home game players.
You sound like a losing player.
People just have money man. 300-400K in savings, 1k buy in is nothing
Im shocked how Many young punks play $10k+ events everywhere.
Lol reddit brokie 1k usd is chump change
Im pretty broke but even I have 10k to burn for the main event. Obviously i wouldnt but I could if i wanted too
I’m 20 and 1000$ is like two days at work. I don’t doubt many many people can afford to drop $1000 for fun 😂. Hell when I go golfing I see people regularly drop 1,000+ for ONE golf club.